Gettin' em up and Moving!

Hey Again!
This is a post that was on my previous blog at wordpress. I penned it a month or so ago, but I think it has some really useful stuff and I would like for it to be available to my new followers as well! So, here you go and I hope you enjoy!

I love to incorporate as much movement into my lessons as possible.  The kids love it, they retain the information, and frankly, if I am bored, they are bored. So...here are some of our favorites. I did not invent these activities, I just picked them up here and there and modified them for second grade simplicity. If you DO know the inventor of these games, or are the ONE, let me know and I will gladly give you credit! :)

Spelling Scavenger Hunt

I hide (and sometimes I don't!) words all over the room that follow the spelling pattern we are looking at for the week. For instance, in the photograph below, we were focusing on -ar words (far, jar, smart, etc).   The students get a clipboard, paper and pencil and go for it! I give them a set amount of time, and inevitably, they always want more. Sometimes we make a contest out of it to see who can get the most words,  or we do girls vs. boys. They are not limited only to the words that I have hidden, they can use a dictionary, book covers, the walls, anything that has print. This activity takes spelling practice into the higher-order-thinking realm. They are problem solving to find the words and making connections between word patterns. I love it! Sometimes, if it is a common spelling pattern, and I am short on time, I don't even hide words, they just have a free-for-all hunt- as long as they stay out of my desk!

Clever Girl- she looked at our spelling list!

Spelling Tableaux

This is an activity where I simply split the students up into groups and they spell out their words with their bodies! They work together and plan how they are going to do it.  Each child is one letter. If there is more letters than students, two students may make up one letter. My students really enjoy this activity. I usually reserve it for one or two of the hardest words, because the planning and implementation on their parts takes a little time.

Can you see the word we spelled? Yep! That is "small." The two boys at the end are working together to make an uppercase letter L.

Guess My Word

This game is not necessarily a spelling game. It works best with content vocabulary. I print off the vocab words and cut them out. Each child will get a vocabulary word taped to his or her back. It is very important that they do not SEE the word. The students go around asking questions that have yes or no answers to try and guess what their word is. The student may only ask each classmate one question. Again, higher order thinking! They are not just trying to recall the definition of the word, they are trying to analyze the attributes of ALL of their vocabulary words to figure out which one is on their backs.  This may sound a little complicated, but it is not. My class is more than half English Language learners and we are a Title One school. My students did beautifully with this when we were reviewing weather terminology.

Sorry about the less than perfect photography. That is why I am a teacher and not a photographer!

Well, that is all for today. I have more of these little games up my sleeves, and I will share at a later post. For now, give these a try and let me know how it goes! Also, what are some ways that you incorporate movement into your lessons? I want to know!